E53 4.4 Water pipe dislodged
 

Hayaku's water pump replacement instructional for replacing your water pump is excellent. See here- E53 X5 4.4i Water Pump Repair DIY
I dislodged one of the two water pipes when removing the water pump (the smaller one). Warning- easy to do.
I have tried to push it back in, and it seems to have been relodged, but it can still twist. It is very hard to see where the pipe goes in. Can anyone advise me how to best get it relodged back in properly. Is this going to cause me issues? Any advise is appreciated.

Sounds like the o-ring may have gotten dinged. Order new ones and lube with fresh coolant (or the water soluble lube of your choice) and carefully reinstall.

I did the same while replacing my water pump back in 2012, the pipes are just held in place by the O-rings until you bolt the pump down, so yes you can twist them until you tighten the pump down.

Thanks for the reply gents. Great- Im guessing it will be all good once the pump is bolted to engine block.

Been down this road with my 01 E53 4.4 with 140k. Ended up with a trickle coolant leak after not getting the pipe seated just right.

Had to remove the intake and the new water pump. Bought new pipes and o-rings (BMW pipes were not too pricey online) as the ends had roughened up from corrosion over the years and I didn't want to do it a third time.

If you still have it apart now, I would replace the pipes and all the o-rings to be done with it.

How difficult is it to access the drivers side end of the pipes? Can you give me a link to an instructional to get open access?

I ran into the same issue but I was able to reseat the pipe using my iPhone as a crude scope to see down there while working. The pictures also helped confirm positioning. So far so go no leaks. As others have said it's a o-ring so it can rotate. Hope that helps out

Thanks for the confidence Vonbimmer- I did exact the same. It looks nicely lodged and I am not going to open the back/top of the engine to double check. It all back together now so will pick up coolant today and see how it goes.